Charlie Revlon (print advertisement, 1970)
In my first advert for Charlie from the 1970s the woman is
very much a product of her time as she is portrayed as being independent,
confident, happy, and smart. She is making direct eye contact with the camera
and grinning, which suggests confidence and joy. The eye contact into the
camera seems flirty and makes the audience seem involved in the advert. However she is walking, and looking at the
camera over her shoulder which suggests that she is busy and important, as it
looks like she is going somewhere and is taking time out of her busy schedule
to look at the audience and smile. We can tell that she knows someone is
watching her because she is looking directly into the camera. The woman in the
advert is dressed rather smart and sexy. She is dressed in a women’s suit, with
a checked shirt and gingham jacket, and she is also wearing heels and they are
clearly visible to show that she do her work and important tasks, but still be
sexy and seductive. Her hair is blowing in the wind as she walks which allows
you to see her whole face. This shows that the woman is not hiding anything,
she isn’t afraid to show her true self. Her confidence is clearly portrayed.
The tagline is “the gorgeous sexy-young fragrance’’
The use of the word ‘’sexy’’ in the tagline suggests sexual
liberation and confidence which was a new attitude developed by the feminist
movement of the 1970’s. Also just before the 1970’s homosexuality was
decriminalized, which meant that there was a growing lesbian community, the
unisex name and empowered, feminist nature of this advert would appeal to both
straight and lesbian women. This could be considered another strong selling
point. This is backed up by the fact the model is looking over her shoulder in
a cheeky manor. Not only this but usually, the perfume is named after a girl,
but the name is a unisex name which suggests empowerment as up until the 1970’s
men had been considered superior. Also, the fact that she is wearing a trouser
suit rather than a more traditional skirt makes her seem in control and
empowered.
The tagline is also clearly showing that youth is also a
very important selling point for the perfume. The tagline promises that if you
wear Charlie, you will seem more youthful, this is attractive to women as they
are always trying to appear as young as possible. ‘’Youth’’ also creates a
sense of freedom as people who are young generally have fun and go to parties.
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My last advert is a moving image advert. It portrays the
woman as being very strong and totally in control. The woman clearly has power over the man, and
she is wearing very tight leather provocative clothes in order to attract him
and she is the dominant character in the scenario. The man is portrayed as being at the woman’s
mercy.
